Wednesday, May 27, 2015

Check the new trailer for the POINT BREAK remake and while there are similarities, I would have preferred if they had left the original branding alone. Just title it something else. Few of the younger generation will have a connection with the original and that's most of your audience here.

Regardless, here it is and it is in 3D so I'm covering it. The trailer itself looks quite good in fact. Gorgeous action. I like the premise - though thinking that a complete stranger can break into an extreme sports group that look like top 5 in the world in what they do is a bit much; but hey, I can deal with it. Loving the colorization that they've used and it's my style - lots of contrast to me. It's polarizing I know (no pun intended), but personally I love it.

I'll comment further when more marketing is made available. For right now, I cringe at the title but I'm loving the visuals - so bring it on Warner Bros!

Here's the boilerplate for the movie:

In Alcon Entertainment’s fast-paced, high-adrenaline action thriller “Point Break,” a young FBI agent, Johnny Utah (Luke Bracey), infiltrates a cunning team of thrill-seeking elite athletes – led by the charismatic Bodhi (Edgar Ramirez). The athletes are suspected of carrying out a spate of crimes in extremely unusual ways. Deep undercover, and with his life in imminent danger, Utah strives to prove they are the architects of this string of inconceivable crimes.The film is replete with the most daring athleticism ever seen in a motion picture. These action adventure feats are performed by elite athletes representing the world’s best in class in big-wave surfing, wingsuit flying, sheer-face snowboarding, free rock climbing, and high-speed motorcycling.The film stars Édgar Ramírez (“Zero Dark Thirty,” “The Bourne Ultimatum,” “Carlos the Jackal”) as Bodhi, and Luke Bracey (“G.I. Joe: Retaliation,” “November Man”) as Johnny Utah, along with Ray Winstone (“Noah,” “The Departed”), Teresa Palmer (“Warm Bodies”) and Delroy Lindo (“Sahara,” “Gone in Sixty Seconds”), under the direction of Ericson Core (“Invincible”).Core directed from a screenplay by Kurt Wimmer (“Salt,” “Law Abiding Citizen”). Alcon principals Broderick Johnson and Andrew A. Kosove produced, along with John Baldecchi, Chris Taylor and Kurt Wimmer. Studio Babelsberg also co-produced. RGM Media principal Devesh Chetty and investor John McMurrick, Chairman of Marloss Entertainment, served as executive producers.Renowned extreme athletes performing stunts in the film include surfers Laird Hamilton, Sebastian Zietz, Makua Rothman, Billy Kemper, Brian Keaulana, Ahanu Tson-dru, Ian Walsh, Laurie Towner, Dylan Longbottom, Albee Layer, Bruce Irons, Tikanui Smith and Tuhiti Humani; snowboarders Xavier De Le Rue, Louis Vito, Christian Haller, Lucas DeBari and Ralph Backstrom; skateboarders Bob Burnquist and Eric Koston; motorcyclists Riley Harper and Oakley Lehman; wingsuit stunt pilots Jon Devore, Julian Boulle, Noah Bahnson, Jhonathan Florez and Mike Swanson, and consultant Jeb Corliss; and free climber Chris Sharma, among others.Making cameos in the film are DJs Steve Aoki, Seth Troxler and The Art Department, as well as sports commentator and TV host Sal Masekela.Director Ericson Core, who served as director of photography on such films as “Invincible,” “The Fast and the Furious” and “Payback,” also serves as director of photography on “Point Break.” Other behind-the-scene team members include Oscar-winning editor Thom Noble (“Thelma & Louise,” “Witness”), production designer Udo Kramer (“North Face,” “The Physician”) and Oscar-nominated costume designer Lisy Christl (“Anonymous,” “White House Down”).“Point Break” is inspired by the classic 1991 hit starring Patrick Swayze and Keanu Reeves. It is scheduled for release in 3D and 2D in select theaters on December 25, 2015, and will be distributed in North America and in select territories around the world by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

Yes, Chris Pratt's character gives off some Jedi vibe here in the latest JURASSIC WORLD clip. He's fending off a certain raptor attack against a poor soul who falls into their paddock - and it looks like this may be the start of a beautiful friendship.

Remember these creatures have intelligence. Still, it's hard to check the disbelief at the door for this one. I truly hope director Colin Trevorrow is successful in this endeavor because I'm dearly looking forward to a kick-butt JURASSIC PARK revisit. I can't coun how many times I've seen the original and I'm sure a lot of you are in the same boat... errr, electric Jeep.

Here's the storyline for the movie:Steven Spielberg returns to executive produce the long-awaited next installment of his groundbreaking Jurassic Park series, Jurassic World. Colin Trevorrow directs the epic action-adventure from a screenplay he wrote with Derek Connolly. Frank Marshall and Patrick Crowley join the team as producers.

Thursday, May 21, 2015

As I knew all along, 3D supercharges your brain! According to neuroscientist Patrick Fagan and the science group Thrill Laboratory, there are some very beneficial effects to watching 3D movies.

Here are some highlights:- 23% jump in cognitive processing- 11% increase in reaction time- 7% more engaged with what they are watching- 33% increase in verbal fluency (writing alliteration for 1 minute)

From the Irish Examiner:"...3D films are more immersive, heighten the senses and induce emotional arousal – this, in turn, makes the brain run at quicker speeds."

Check out the full story over at the Examiner, and feel good about seeing as many 3D movies as you can! It's GOOD for you.

Friday, May 15, 2015

Why not? A couple of awesome 3D converted movies compared head to head! I really wanted to see AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON a second time before doing this but didn't have the time yet so instead of waiting to see both again, I'm giving it a go now.

Yes, they are both second view worthy. Very much so. However, MAD MAX: FURY ROAD is a downright classic, while AGE OF ULTRON doesn't measure up to the original Avengers movie.

So which one came out on top? Definitely MAD MAX. ULTRON has some very cool elements don't get me wrong, but I get the strong feeling that director Joss Whedon was severely curtailed in what he could deliver on vision for the project - Marvel is known for that. In this case, they need to smarten up. George Miller on the other hand seems like he had carte blanche to explore his vision and explore he did! A stunning accomplishment.

I found the 3D conversion to be acceptable for both movies, but FURY ROAD had the flexibility to expound a crazy new world and the exaggerated 3D at times worked tremendously. Only saw a few shots where the 3D was shoddy and frankly lazy. It helps that I know what to look for but this was obvious (detail around moving fine lines for example). Definitely see MAD MAX in 3D on the largest screen possible. Same goes for ULTRON but the 3D there is much more muted and if you like seeing and being reminded that you are watching a 3D movie over and over again, then MAD MAX is for you. For me, there is a time and a place for using extra depth and FURY ROAD is it. Trust me.

I thought both movies suffered somewhat from storylines that did not justify the immense time, effort and money that went into them. ULTRON was not a good enough villain to throw at the Avengers (hard to follow up after Loki but still...), the movie seemed invented rather than "fate" for the team and character development is all but at a standstill with so many characters in play now. However FURY ROAD had practically no character development either and if it wasn't for the odd quote of "redemption" or lightning quick flashbacks there would be none at all. But MAX had proper villains, better acting, better practical effects (which make a huge difference) and was just stunningly gorgeous in its bleakness. You have to see it to believe it.

I'm not going to spoil either movie for those who haven't seen them yet (but we can spoil in the comments - so fair warning!), but definitely see them both. This is a comparison between two amazing movies, but its just that MAD MAX is an instant classic and is really artwork. It belongs in the Louvre. Seriously. It's as if Tarsem Singh, Michael Bay, James Wan and well, George Miller all got together and painted a moving masterpiece. Bravo Mr. Miller - you've grown your game even though you've been around for an amazing career.

Friday, May 08, 2015

I remember seeing JURASSIC PARK for the first time like it was yesterday. That feeling of awe when the first dinosaurs were revealed. I'm feeling a bit more of that with this new "designed to be bigger than the T-Rex" would-be sequel to the original movie. I'm so hoping they can recapture that original feeling - much like my anticipation for STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS in December.

So far so good. Nothing like being in a hamster ball right in the thick of it!

Here's the storyline for the movie:Steven Spielberg returns to executive produce the long-awaited next installment of his groundbreaking Jurassic Park series, Jurassic World. Colin Trevorrow directs the epic action-adventure from a screenplay he wrote with Derek Connolly. Frank Marshall and Patrick Crowley join the team as producers.

Sunday, May 03, 2015

Yes, AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON is a force at the box office and justifiably so. It's an amazing movie - again offering up superb editing and character development despite the fact that this assemble cast is not only large, but growing. Was it perfect? No. More on that in my review coming up, but DEFINITELY worth while going to see. It's one of Marvel's top 5 movies.

Ultron opened to $187.7 million in North America, shy of the original's $207.4 million). Yes, the original had the uniqueness of being the first to show off all these heroes on the same screen, but I think even more importantly the villain was well known and adored. Loki. Ultron, while a fairly cool concept was not up to the Loki standard in my opinion. More on that this week.

Internationally Ultron is cleaning up! It's raked in $439 million and it hasn't even opened in China yet, the world's second largest (and soon to be largest) market. Japan's opening is coming up as well.

In total AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON has amassed a staggering $626.7 million already. One would think it has a lock on the yearly box office crown - but not so fast, or should I say fast and furious - FURIOUS 7 has hit $1.43 billion worldwide. I don't think it will have a problem surmounting that figure and perhaps hitting $1.5 or $1.6 billion worldwide, overtaking the original AVENGERS - good enough for third place behind the rare air of James Cameron's space: TITANIC and AVATAR. But we'll see. China will play a huge role in this.

One more movie to throw into the yearly competition is of course STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS. That movie is just plain scary when it comes to projecting box office. It could be up in the top 2 of all time.